Decrim now world news digest for September 2025

Hearing on decriminalising sex work in SA delayed until May 2026

South Africa, Cape Town

September 5, 2025

A landmark case challenging the criminalisation of sex work in South Africa (SA) will only be heard next year, with the High Court in the Western Cape setting the main hearing for May 2026.

Sex workers brought the case themselves in May 2024, contesting the constitutional validity of sections of the Sexual Offences Act and City of Cape Town bylaws that criminalise their work. Social justice organisation Section 27, representing the Treatment Action Campaign, and the non-governmental organisation Soke Gender Justice, are supporting the case.

“Sex workers are in a particularly vulnerable position,” said Khuselwa Dyantyi, Health Attorney at Section 27. “Criminalisation exposes them to exploitation and makes it difficult to report violence. It also limits their access to healthcare and infringes on their constitutional rights, particularly for black women, transgender women, and members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex community.”

Two days of preliminary proceedings earlier this week allowed interested parties to be admitted as amici curiae (friends of the court). Dyantyi explained that 21 organisations have now been accepted, most of which support decriminalisation, though some argued that sex work should remain illegal. Each party will submit evidence and heads of arguments ahead of the main hearing.

The long timeline, Dyantyi said, reflects the complexity of the case. “There are thousands of pages of evidence to consider, and the case must be heard by a full bench, not a single judge. It’s essential that the court has time to properly assess all submissions,” she said.

The outcome of the case could have far-reaching implications for the rights and safety of sex workers across SA and marks a critical step in the ongoing debate over the legal status of sex work in the country.

Source portal web.sabc.co.za

No sex workers will be prosecuted while court process plays out in South Africa

South Africa, Cape Town

September 5, 2025

Sex workers will no longer be prosecuted, according to a new directive issued by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), pending the outcome of a court case launched by sex workers challenging the criminalisation of sex work in South Africa.

The NPA has stopped prosecutions while the court process plays out. NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said, “While a formal ‘moratorium’ has not been declared in the legislative sense, a directive has been issued within the NPA in line with current legal and parliamentary developments.”

Prosecutors have been instructed not to enroll new cases relating to sections in the the Sexual Offences Act and the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, he said.

Mhaga said this means “no new cases should be enrolled under the impugned provisions”, and where cases have already been enrolled, charges should be withdrawn. The cases where the accused has already pleaded are to be postponed pending the outcome of the court case.

With regards to arrests and prosecution going forward, if sex workers are arrested during this period, those charges will not be enrolled by prosecutors, and existing enrolled matters will “either be withdrawn or held in abeyance” until the court makes its ruling.

“This approach reflects both the current legal trajectory and the constitutional obligations on the NPA to act in accordance with evolving jurisprudence and human rights considerations,” said Mhaga.

The Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) said it is celebrating the moratorium. In a statement, the organisation said that the decision “is a massive achievement for SWEAT and the sex worker rights movement”.

Asked whether Cape Town’s law enforcement would continue to arrest sex workers, spokesperson Wayne Dyason said the City’s law enforcement does not “execute arrests for prostitution but may issue fines for solicitation”.

Source portal groundup.org.za

Sex workers fight stigma with pride celebration in Bristol, UK

United Kingdom, Bristol

September 14, 2025

Sex workers have come together to counter the stigma and shame they say they face.

The organisation Sexquisite and the Bristol Sex Worker Collective hosted a sex worker "pride" event in Bristol on September 14, 2025 (International Sex Worker Pride Day).

Maedb Joy, of the organisation, said sex workers were a "marginalised group", with their children "often" taken into care, housing denied, financial discrimination by banks, stigma and shame. "In a world where that still exists we need a sex worker pride."

Jess, a sex worker, said: "I struggle to have friends and I experience really harsh bullying for being a sex worker. Sexquisite is like a massive escape, it feels like I have more meaning to life when I have these events."

Sexquisite said the pride event was a space for sex workers to be unashamed and celebrated.

The event featured burlesque shows, spoken word performances, pole dancing and an exhibition showcasing art created by sex workers.

Jess says the event "means the world" to her and that it gives a "vital platform" to sex workers.

"I’ve been nearly beat up before because this is what I do. I can’t get a normal job because of my digital foot print," Jess said.

"I wish it was viewed as an actual, proper job. I wish it was more normalised and decriminalised for our safety. We face a lot of hostility."

Jessica Risque, another member of the Sexquisite team and of the Bristol Sex Workers Collective, said it was "really important" to celebrate sex workers and show them as "normal people".

"We’re making sure we’re not being erased," she added. "It’s more about saying, ’if you don’t agree with it that’s fine but we still deserve safety and a voice’."

Source portal bbc.com

More work on Sex work in New York 2025

USA, New York

September 15, 2025

As Zohran Mamdani has shied away from his support of decriminalizing sex work during his mayoral run, his democratic socialist colleagues in Albany are proudly pushing it forward.

“Honestly, I haven’t spoken to Assemblyman Mamdani on it, and I wouldn’t be able to speak for him,” said state Sen. Julia Salazar, who’s sponsoring the bill. “As people learn about sex work and the positive impact on public health — especially on women of color, on immigrant women — of decriminalization, I think that they will become more supportive. And I want to see that support from everyone.”

Salazar and Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest, who’s sponsoring the bill in the other chamber, spoke with Playbook on Tuesday at the premiere of “Sex Work: It’s Just a Job,” a documentary about the campaign to decriminalize prostitution in New York state.

The cause is one Mamdani previously championed, and he remains a co-sponsor of Souffrant Forrest’s Assembly bill, known as “Cecilia’s Law.”

But with the mayor’s race in full swing — and under pressure from opponents — Mamdani has said getting the bill passed into law wouldn’t be part of his legislative agenda as mayor. More recently, he’s said he would look to how former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s city government approached sex work. Under de Blasio’s administration, the NYPD reduced arrests on prostitution charges, and de Blasio endorsed decriminalization in his final months in office.

More New York City voters support legalizing sex-for-profit between consenting adults than those who want to keep it a crime, according to a poll by decriminalization advocates reported by City & State — but a quarter remain undecided.

Salazar said she’d keep fighting. “The biggest challenge that we face is humanizing sex workers, getting legislators to understand that, actually, whether they want to believe it or not, or recognize it or not, there are sex workers all around us,” she said. “I know that we still have our work cut out for us, but I hope to see it move through the Codes Committee and hopefully the legislative process this year.” 

On photo: State Sen. Julia Salazar (far left) and Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest (far right) spoke with Playbook on Tuesday at the premiere of “Sex Work: It’s Just a Job,” a documentary about the campaign to decriminalize prostitution in New York state. | Jeff Coltin/POLITICO

Source portal politico.com